Some Visitin’ & Some Piddlin’

My Solar project is on hold waitin’ on some more wire from Arizona Wind & Sun. Since we changed locations for the panels I need more wire cause I want each panel on it’s own wire goin’ to the junction box to limit voltage drop in the system. I did mount all the panels today and wired them up temporarily. Kind o’ ‘Daisy Chained’ ‘em to get an idea what kinds’ power I’ll be getting’. So far all is good. Around noontime I had only one panel online and it was pumpin’ out 5.4 amps when the sun was not duckin’ behind the clouds. We’ll see what tomorrow brings with all three ‘on line’.
Now that we have a Trimetric meter I have been playin’ with light bulbs tryin’ to find the best light with the least amperage draw. Been usin’ them twisty new florescent bulbs of different type and wattages. With the Trimetric I can tell how much amperage each device draws which is kinda’ neat. Glad I didn’t by a Kil-a-Watt device like I was gonna’, cause this meter does that & so much more. I have the charge controller set point at 14.8 volts and today for the first time since install our batteries are full, meaning they reached that charge point during the day. Just can’t wait to get two of the panels rewired when the new wire comes. Then it will be ‘Backyard Boondockin’ to get an idea how much power we can use and replace daily.
Yesterday Linda & I went on down to a local park to see Froggi Donna & Stu of 2 Taking A Fifth. We arrived at their site and Donna was readin’ on her Kindle. We introduced ourselves to Donna, Sadie had already introduced herself. Shortly Stu came out & we all sat outside their rig, chewin’ the fat, with a few tale tales thrown in. We talked and talked fer a couple o’ hours till the bugs started accostin’ Donna so we went into their rig fer’ some more gabbin’. Got the 25 cent tour of their home, very nice, very homey. They are here visitin’ family, Donna’s two brothers live here and Stu has family in Ft. Lauderdale I believe he said. Funny but I was readin’ their blog the other day and turns out we have known Donna’s younger brother Kendall and his wife Marie for years. Linda’s sister Joyce cut Marie’s hair for years and since she wasn’t working as a hairdresser at the time, Linda’s shop was where the cuttin’ & snippin’ was most often done.
Anyway we had us a wonderful visit. Even though you got a good idea what they look like it’s nice to meet the folks behind the writin’. Thanks fer’ the hospitality Donna & Stu and we’ll find ya’ on the road someday.
On another note I’d like to welcome new follerer’s to the blog, Mr & Mrs Crafty of Jorge and Evielynne Adventures on the Road, Deborah of The Sign Said, Gypsy Dad of The Modern Vagabonds. and Linda of Because We Can.  Also a regular commenter I.M.Vayne of RV_DREAMERS.

Well that’s all fer’ today. Hope to see ya down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

Busy, Busy Barry

Oh yeah, for the last few weeks I’ve been busy, focused, to the point of ‘Tunnel Vision’. Every opportunity I have been workin’ on our solar upgrade. I was gonna wait till a later time to do this but after doin’ the batteries, transfer switch, inverter & TriMetric meter and seein’ how well everything worked together and that great deal on solar panels from Sun Electric and seein’ as how we needed some way to recharge those new batteries, I just had to go forward.

I ordered a MorningStar TriStar 45amp charge controller with remote temperature sensor from EcoDirect and some 10-2 tray cable to wire to the solar panels from Northern Arizona Wind & Sun.

I spent several days designing & building the power panel for the system. All wires terminate here instead of running everything to the battery terminals, much easier and it keeps all those connections away from that corrosive atmosphere in the battery box. I also installed a fusible disconnect and used one side for the feed from the panels to the solar controller and the other side for the feed from the solar controller to the batteries. I have a 300amp ‘Catastrophic Fuse’ installed in the positive feed from the batteries and a 500amp shunt on the negative battery feed. Here’s what it all looks like put together,

The disconnect is the gray box on the left, the TriStar Solar Controller is on the upper right, power panel is where all the connections are made, shunt is to the right and 300 amp fuse is to the left. The black box in the foreground is our battery enclosure with the vent hose going out a louver at the front of the coach. The wire to the left of the disconnect and solar controller go through the basement , into a plumbing vent pipe up to the roof and into a 4x4 PVC junction box. The junction box is where all the wire from the solar panels connect.

Next up was to build the mount for the solar panels. I wanted the mounts to be able to tilt to raise the panels at an angle during the winter when the sun is lower in the sky. First the feet had to be cut on a angle for opposite sides of the panels.

 

Then the foot that is fastened to the roof attached.

Voila’ I now have a panel mounted flat that I can tilt up to 50 degrees to either side when required.

Next job was mounting the panels, this turned into a back up & punt. I was mounting the panels to the the front of the coach and had the wire length figured for that placement. So much for Plan A.

I just figured on parking facing west and always tilting the panels to the drivers side of the coach, south.

Linda said we should put the panels where we could tilt the panels either direction in case we couldn’t park facing west. Here comes ‘Plan B’.

Do you know how hard it is to find a location where the panels won’t be shaded by something else on the roof?  Well we now have a new location but I don’t have enough wire for this layout so I’m at a standstill till I get more.

On another note Froggi Donna & Stu are stayin’ around the corner from us so we’re gonna try to hookup in the next couple o’ days.

Well I better get goin’ so’s I can get back in that tunnel tomorrow.

Hope to see ya down the road as we’re:

Dancin’ on the Wind.